Of red sun and golden blood
by atomic muffin
Summary: To be completely honest, Sei, princess of her state and shogi player extraordinaire, can't really say that she didn't see her cousin Juro's betrayal coming. Don't meant it don't hurt like hell, though. Or how the MiraGen became the Happy Hungry Bunch.


Of Red sun and Golden Blood

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Disclaimer : Neither Akatsuki no Yona or Kuroko's Basket are mine. I'm just indulging my overreacting imagination and sharing with the world. Oh, and there is one Naruto's quote somewhere.

Rated : T, mostly for Daiki's mouth

Résumé : 'To be completely honest, Sei, princess of her state and shogi player extraordinaire, can't really say that she didn't see her cousin Juro's betrayal coming. Didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell, though.' Or how the MiraGen became the Happy Hungry Bunch.

Note : English is not my native langage, and I'm not beta'ed.

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I. Last tears

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She was four and her mother just died.

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She didn't believe it at first. Her governess kelt before her, soft hands holding her shoulders, sadness in her voice and pity in her eyes, and Sei didn't believe it. Her maid muttured words of condolences as she prepared the young princess into luxurious yet sober mourning robes and she didn't believed it. Her stern professor tried to confort her in his own, awkard way, telling her that her mother was watching over her, and she didn't believe it.

She passed through the halls, her smal frame burried under the heavy white robes, head high, and people muttured around her when they though she couldn't hear.

" _Poor child", "completly in denial", "what is the King doing?"_ Fools, the lot of them. What would they know anyway, those pathetic _pleasants_.

Mother was not dead, and she was going to come back to Sei. Just watch it.

But days passed and Mother wasn't back. Finally, the day of the funeral came, and Sei absolutly refused to go, because what point was there to attent funerals of the living ? None of the coaxing, pleading, begging or even ordering would managed to make her change her mind, and she spent the whole ceremony in her room, burried under covers as others prayed for her mother's soul and coaxed meaningless poetries on the so many qualities of the good Queen.

Eventually, her father, who had not seen her since the news of his spouse's demise, came to her chamber as soon as the funeral was over. She peeked at him defiantly from beneath her blanket, assessing his tired traits, crestfallen shoulders, despaired hollowed eyes, and just _knew_.

"Sei-chan", the King pleaded, barely containing his bitter tears, his soft voice unusually tremulous and grave. "Sei-chan, I'm so sorry." Those meaningless words again. Except they didn't appeared meaningless at all from her crushed father's mouth.

The newly widower fell on his knees, effectively encercling his daugher beetween his shaking arms, his tears falling on her blanket.

But she did not cry. She was Seika, heiress princess of the Youka Kingdom, and she did not cry, not even in her father's arms, not even when she had just lost her mother.

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(And that was the start of the terrifying reign over the Hiryu Castle of the Ice Queen.)

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II. The challenge of your life

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She was five and positively driving half the castle insane.

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The princess had never been an easy child in the first place, all serious and hard to please. Fortunatly, they had been spared a spoiled brat as the shelterd kids often turned into, but had been saded instead with one that hardly acted as a child at all.

However, ever since the Queen's recent passing, the princess had turned from a distant yet amiable person to a living nighmare for every being in vicinity. Turned out that Seika was not one for healthy grief and reasonable coping.

No one was spared her massacrant mood nor her legendary tongue-lashing, not even the King. The worst was that she managed to be perfectly abject while keeping her polite and formal persona. More than one servant had run from her rooms in tears, and the intendant didn't even bother counting the number of handmaiden begging from a reassigment.

She was Seika, crown princess and heiress of the Kouka Kingdom, living Glory, and no one is spared her rightful might. Not even that random noble's son that dared to present himself to her while everyone else knew better than to disburb her. Seriously, what was her guards good for if they couldn't even keep some spoiled brat from annoying her ?

"Oooh, my apologies, didn't see you there", the intrudor smiled, midly embarrassed, with good reasons since he had almost _litterally_ _stumbled_ upon her.

Seika didn't even spared him more than a quick exaspered glance before retourning her attention to her book. Unfortunatly, the boy didn't seemed to get the damn message to get out of her sight already.

"What, it's the first time I met someone with the same hair coloring ! You must Seika hime-sama!"

At the bold sudden declaration, Seika couldn't help but divert her attention from her book to look at him more closely, and indeed, here it was, those same ridiculously bright red tresses, surrounding the soft-looking smiling face of a boy a few years older than she was. How odd indeed.

"Cho...Chojuro-sama !", a servant whatsover cried out in barely contained distress.

'Chojuro' ? Seika's eyes widened a second in recognition, before she eased her face back into her usual expressionless features. So, her cousin. Well, the mystere was cleared.

"Ah, I'm right here, Shibi-san !", her new-found relative enthusiatically called out.

Seika's eyebrows frowned with distate. Really, the more he talked the less impressed she was with her cousin. He couldn't have act less like a noble had he tried. Not that she was particulary fond of nobles either, but at least they know how to maintian the illusion of decorum.

"Really, Chojuro-sama, could you please not run off on your own ?, the servant reprimanded, before turning unhealty white as he spotted her. Those damn hair who never failed to give her away. "Hime-sama, I'm sorry for the disturbance" while lowly bowing. He probably had heard about her reign of terror among the other servants, since gossiping was the only thing those seemed good for these days. Feeling unsually benevolent, Seika answered with a small of her own. After all, it was hardly the servant's fault if his master was a complete idiot.

And yet said master remained completely oblivious at the bablant show of deference of his servant.

"See, Shibi-san, it's my little cousin !", the boy brightened, while _patting her head_. The utter nerve..! "Isn't she super cute ?"

'Shibi-san' gulped with barely contained anxiety and horror. "Ah, Cho...Chojuro-sama, please stop being disrespectuf of the Princess !"

"Disrespectful ?", answered the foolish brat. "But we're family, right ?"

"We're distant relative, at best, and we just met. I'll ask you not to act so familiarly with me from now on." _Or else._

To be perfecly clear, she accompigned her declaration with the icest glare she had in her arsenal. 'Demon's eyes', as this peticular chilling look had been called by frightened superstitious handmaiden. To her defense, even without trying, the ugly crimson red coloration of her irises was doing half the work by itself.

Crimson met with smooth gold, and the princess found herself bewitched by the odd yet familiar wisdom hidden in her cousin's eyes.

To her ever lasting embarrasement, Seika was the first to withdraw. _What had just happened ?_

"That's so mean, Sei-chan !", Chojuro pouted.

And the moment just broke. It definitly had been her imagination.

"I want to play with Sei-chan !" Just get out of here already. "But she's so serious and smarty". The only intelligent thing you managed to say, an you messed that up. 'Smarty', please. "Cats and dogs, maybe ?" Sure. Without your legs you won't go far anyway. "No, no, that won't do ! How about shogi ?"

Shogi ? Seika had seen old men play the game many times, and basically knew the rules of it, but had never tried it out herself. It would not have been _proper_ for a princess after all. Not that she really cared about that in the first place.

"If I agree to play Shogi with you and win, you would have to obey me. On everything.", she proposed with her best 'I'm a princess you stupid pleasant' voice.

"Oh I see, we're making a deal !", he smiled enthusiatically, before the careful grin unexpectendly turned into an almost _predatory_ smirk, golden orbs suddently glowing feral. "But what if _I_ win, hime-sama ? Do I get to order you around, then ?"

Seika's eyebrow grew high at the weird personnality twist. The servant, however, didn't appeared surprised by the way events were turning out, as he kept muttering fervently "you've done it again, young master.." behind the long sleeve of his robes.

"Ah, now that I think about it, Sei-chan may not now how to play, and I'm quite good myself, so it wouldn't be very _fair_ , right..", her offensive cousin muttered pensively while looking down at her with a benevolent smile.

The arrogant twerp. That. Was. War. There was no way in hell she was going to loose to that simpleton. She was so going to wipe the floor with him. "No way. Bring it on."

"That's the spirit ! You heard my princessly cousin, Shibi-san! Bring us a board, would you ?"

The first time, she lost by a wide margin. And the three times that followed too.

Turned out he wasn't lying when boasting about his skills after all.

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(And it's the start of a very beautiful _competition_.)

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III. Tough love

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She was six and she just met what would become the other major annoyance of life.

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"Chojuro !", called out the red-haired princess in an unusually loud voice, while opening without further inquiries the doors of the guest wing.

One servant with more guts than his lot had devoted himself to the unpleasant task of informing her that her _dearest_ cousin, despite not being expected until tomorrow, had arrived for several hours and hadn't seemed fit to come greet her. _Unforgivable_ , fumed Seika as she hurried into the corridor to the guest wing, where the red-haired idiot was supposed to be doing Lord-knew-what.

Except Chojuro wasn't at all the room she had been told to search for. Unless, that's it, her carefree relative had turned overnight into a tanned-skined blue-haired boy with impressive scowling skills and more muscles in one arm than her skinny cousin could claim to have in his whole body. Not _likely_.

"Oi !", growled the older boy, putting back on the table in front of him the apple he was obliously intending to eat before she interrupted him. "What the hell do you think you're doing, pipsqueak ?"

Pipsqueak ? _Pipsqueak_ ? 'Not maiming guests so early in the day, Seika, no matter of how _utterly rude_ they're being. It does tend to do bad things to a reputation, and you know yours don't need more of that already.'

"Forgive me for the intrusion, I was told I could find the Young Lord Chojuro here, and was evidently mistaken.", Seika deadpaned with the icest voice at her disposal. At her intern satisfaction, it did appeared to make a small effect on her interlocutor, as he gulped with surprise.

"Well, yeah, I got that, ya know...", he fumbled, putting a hand behind his neck. "He left a while ago, don't know where he went though."

"I see", the youger girl nodded. "Then, I shall take my leave..."

"Hey, wait a minute !", the boy raised suddently, feathers of his Wind Tribe ornement shivering against his cheek at the abrupt movement. "You still haven't present yourself, you know ! Unless you want me to keep on calling you pipsqueak..."

She hadn't planned on letting him call her anything, really. Oh, well...

"No need. I'm Seika, Princess and heiress of the Kouka Realm. Does that ring a bell ?", she claimed with a dignified blank expression. The last part clearly had been a taunt, but it's not like he hadn't had it coming, calling her names and all.

"What ? No way !" the older boy exclaimed with an delightfully exquisite expression of disbelief, and rudely pointed the finger at her. "Chojuro kept on rambling the whole trip to the Capital on how his cousin the princess was the cutest ever, or something ! You're not cute _at all_!"

Alright. That was it. Seika was definitly _done_ playing nice, proper and polite.

"I'm certainly not", she spated back, "and will not accepte to be blamed for my idiotic cousin's self-induced desillutions, you fool !"

"What the hell is wrong with you anyway ? Small kids are not supposed to act this formal ! Drop the act, you ice-cold weirdo, it's damn creepy !"

"Who's the small kid, you brain-dead idiot ? You're the one who've being acting rude, don't you dare berate me on _my_ behavior ! What kind of _douche_ calls a six-years old a weirdo anyway ? Have you just look at yourself ?"

Their argument was 'thankfully' kept from degenerating any further by no one else than the Wind General himself. And if Seika thought adding a supposedly mature adult would make the situation less non-sensical, she was _dead wrong_.

"Daiki !, roared the ederly man while barging from the door with a righful and mighty furry worth of the berserk of old legends. "How dare you being rude to Hime-sama ! Apologise immediately !"

Seika stood with a blank expression as Mundok managed the remarkable feat to simultaneously beat his grandson to submission with a simple roll of paper while bowing profusely to herself and crying out randomly "I'm so sorry, Hime-sama !", "I would take the entire responsibility, your Highness !", or her personal favorite "Please forgive my shamefull grandson, he's still an hothead young fool", which she wouldn't argue with.

"Oi, Jji !", protested the Wind tribe heir, and wasn't that a frightening thought for the futur ? "Stop hitting me already, you crazy old man !"

"Call me Ji-chan !", growled the oldest man as gave a particulary rough hit behind Daiki's neck.

And just as Seika thought her life could get more surreal, it _did_.

"Oh my, it's so lively here !", a familiar voice cheerfully laughted. "But that's wind tribe for you !"

It wasn't even surprising really. Wherever there was a mayem whatsover, her cousin couldn't be far, either because he started it or because he was attracted to chaos like a moth to flame. That was the Chojuro effect for you.

"Seiiii-chan !", cried out Chojuro as soon as spotted her, which wasn't much of a exploit since, you know, _red hair_. "I've been searching for you in the _whole_ castle !"

The princess raised a sceptical eyebrow at the bold declaration. She hadn't left her quarters so long ago that he would have had the time to search the _whole_ castle, that shameless liar.

"Good thing for you, since she was seeking you out too", Daiki deapaned, while this time skillfully avoiding another hit from Mundok. Seika silently applauded the effort, thought. Must be so hard for such a thick head to use second degre. "Now you weirdos can go play together or something."

"You were searching for me, lovely cousin ?", the red-haired boy brightened, drying with his finger a very fake tear of happiness. "I'm so moved..."

"You owe me a game, in case you have forgotten, _useless_ cousin."

"Yeah, Chojuro, you do that, go play with the creepy kid...", muttured the tanned-skined nine-years old, while he tried to slip away from his own quarters. Unfortunatly, the prince would have none of it.

"Ow, don't say that, Daiki, we're all going to play together", brightened Chojuro, trying to engulf the two of them into a group hug of sorts while the Wind General cheered in the background and held back tears of emotion with difficultly because 'so much youthfulness, it's beautifull !'

'What. The. Hell.', was the thought both Seika and Daiki shared when trying untie themselves from too much proximity from each other.

(And that was the start, according to Chojuro, of a splendid, or at least _lively_ friendship)

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III. bis (bonus). Random psychological analysis

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He was nine years old and so not ready for this shit.

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"Oi, Chojuro, you damned liar !", Daiki hissed at his so called friend as soon as the demonic pipsqueak had run off Lord-knew-where, probably to oppress a small country or release her evil minions on innocent bystanders. "You told me your cousin was cute and nice ! Nice, my ass ! She's fucking evil."

The smaller noble had the gall to give him a confused innocent look. "Well, she _is_ , Daiki. I just knew you two you get along."

"Chojuro, really," deapaned the Wind tribe heir with the most sceptic glare he had ever used. "If I didn't knew you better, I'd think you have shit in your eyes."

"Good thing you know better then", grinned his red-haired prince while boldly putting his skinny arm across Daiki's shoulders. "See, that's the thing with you, my impulsive friend. You don't try looking underneath the underneath enough."

"Are you calling me an idiot ?", he spated back as he shook the offensive limb off his shoulders. "Cause I got that enough from your bitchy cousin, thank ya very much."

"Don't call her bitchy, Daiki. That's not even a word.", reprimanded sternly Chojuro. "It's just a facade, you know. Deep deep down, she's all mellow and shy. I bet she even likes you."

"Yeah, that's definitly why she kept calling me a brain-dead beast. You know, she might actually be intto something, you _are_ delusional."

"It's because Sei-chan has trouble interacting with people without being coldy formal or passive-aggressive." Chojuro explained, ignoring his friend's rumbles of "more aggressive than passive, I tell you", and slowly leant close to the other so he could mutter into his ear like it was some sort of huge secret.

"Because Sei-chan is such a _tsundere_."

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Note : Just in case it wasn't clear : Seika and Chojuro are Akashi Seijuro, and Son Hak is Aomine Daiki (well Son Daiki now)

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